November 15: Considering part 1: Knowing Comes First

Romans 6:11. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Romans 6:11 offers us one of the most important statements of the Christian life. Every Christian must consider themselves to have died to sin and to have been raised to life in Christ. This verse truly is a summary statement of “to live is Christ.” If we had to state what union with Christ is in one phrase it would be Romans 6:11.

But, obviously, this statement does not exist alone. It is part of a detailed argument that Paul is making concerning why we don’t just keep sinning (6:1). It is part of his explanation of the abundance of gospel grace, grace that goes beyond “Christ died for me,” and moves us into “we died and were raised with Christ” (union with Christ).

This is important – before we can consider anything we must first KNOW. Know what?

We must know two things:

Romans 6:9-10. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God.

First, we must know what happened to Jesus himself. He died to sins once for all, and then rose to live to God.

Romans 6:6. We know that our old self was crucified with him

Second, we must know that our old self died with Christ.

We can’t even begin to talk about considering our union with Christ’s resurrection until we first know these things. WE CAN’T START TO THINK ABOUT HOW TO LIVE UNTIL WE FIRST UNDERSTAND THAT WE DIED.

6:11 is no good without 6:6.

“Christ lives in me” is no good without “I have been crucified with Christ.”

Do you believe Romans 6:1-10? Do you see your death with Christ as an objective reality? An actual event? A past tense event? Not something that you are waiting for, or looking forward to one day, but something that fully and completely happened to you by the power of the Spirit.

This is not mere intellectual knowing. It is faith. It is believing that we are actually buried into Christ. We do not work at dying to sin. We do not wait to die to sin. We do not pray to God to crucify us to sin and give us new life. You are dead. You have new life (Nee)!

There can be no considering without knowing. Satan wants to keep you ignorant. This blog wants to fill you with the glorious gospel truths of your union with Christ. Do you know that “to live is Christ” means you died with Christ? Do you believe this?

If yes you’re ready to consider yourself dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.